I wonder if we're completely ruined, you and I.
- Scott Fitzgerald in a letter to Zelda, from the prologue of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Fitzgerald is a mysterious figure, one we have seen multiple versions of. From F. Scott Fitzgerald's own work based on their love and marriage, The Beautiful and the Damned, to Woody Allen's 2011 blockbuster, Midnight in Paris, Zelda has been given many faces. Mostly, we see her as the outspoken, neurotic and crazy wife of a timeless writer. However, Therese Anne Fowler gives us something remarkably different: a vibrant and bold woman who spent her life fighting against societal expectations.
To describe the plot of this novel would not give you an accurate description of the novel's literary prowess. The power of Z lives in its characters and the love, hate and desires that bind them. There is, of course, the crushingly honest and spunky Zelda, who is raised by a generation of modest, sexless women, but she herself was as sensual and curious as can be. During her youth, Zelda is made of bravery and promise; battling for the life she so desires. Fowler also breathes life into a heart-wrenching version of Scott Fitzgerald: the tortured dreamer who, though tremendously talented, harboured such insecurity that alcohol became his only comfort.
Zelda and Scott start off young, ambitious and extremely naïve. Their adoration and fascination with each other is the perfect illustration of young love. But as they age, Scott's blindingly obvious insecurities begin to take over their relationship. Zelda always thought their future and legacy would be as two artists, conquering the world together, and she rides a rollercoaster ride of emotions when she realizes that all Scott wants is a supportive, compliant and adoring wife. These two couldn't live with each other, but could not survive apart.
With stunning, poetic prose, Fowler delivers one of the most tragic love stories I have ever read. I cheered for them, shed tears for them and watched life intrude on their dreams, as it often does. My heart swelled and bled for Scott and Zelda, who really were each other’s Kryptonite. Just like Scott wrote about in his book, their love was beautiful ... and damned.